’s discourse teaches us that the fundamental purpose of our practice is to undergo a process of purification. It is only through this purification that our original, innate instincts can manifest, allowing us to eventually find our way back to our true self. You may ask, what exactly are we purifying? We are purifying : the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. By purifying our heart and mind, we assist the growth of our spirit, elevate the quality of our spirit, and allow our innate, sensitive awareness to emerge.
The Unfolding of Innate Wisdom
When the spirit is purified, it naturally regains its original, boundless capabilities. These are often referred to as the six supernatural powers. They include:
Heavenly Eye: The ability to see beyond the limitations of physical space.
Divine Hearing: The ability to hear sounds across the vastness of the Realm.
Reading minds: Understanding the thoughts of other beings.
Knowing past lives: Perceiving the karmic history of oneself and others.
Divine Foot: The ability to travel through space and time.
Extinction of outflows: The total cessation of karmic defilements.
Let us focus on the first two: the Heavenly Eye and divine hearing.
The Vision of the Heavenly Eye
The Heavenly Eye allows one to penetrate the barriers of space and perceive the conditions within those spaces. Because the Dharma Realm is immeasurable and boundless, the number of spaces one can perceive, as well as the clarity and depth of that vision, depends entirely on the degree of one's purification. In the Infinite Life Sutra, the Buddha speaks of the Five Eyes:
The Physical Eye: Used for basic discernment in the material world.
The Heavenly Eye: Capable of seeing through the limitations of physical form.
The Dharma Eye: Pure and clear, seeing the truth of the Dharma.
The Wisdom Eye: Seeing the ultimate truth of reality.
The Buddha Eye: The complete and perfect vision of a Buddha.
As a practitioner continues to purify themselves and moves toward the state of an awakened being, these five eyes become clear and bright, and all can be perceived.
Glimpsing the Hidden Realms
When the eye root is purified, one can see through the human body. One can perceive the formless spirits residing within and observe the situations of the spiritual realms. The human body is merely one form of physical entity. Everything we see with our physical eyes—our food, the creatures of the earth, animals, plants, everyday objects, and even the molecules of the air—exists as a physical entity within this same space. However, those who have realised their true nature and possess pure eye roots can see the spiritual beings that reside within these physical entities. Every single entity contains a spirit, and each spirit belongs to a different space. The purer one's vision, the more clearly one can see these spirits and the more layers of space one can perceive. This is something the physical eyes can never achieve.
The Wisdom of Detachment
For those with open eyes, it is vital to understand a crucial principle: you must be able to see without being attached to what you see. Do not become fixated on the scenes within these spaces. Do not allow your to enter these spaces, for if you do, your spirit may become trapped within them, unable to find its way out. If this happens, the spirit of your body loses its ability to be the master, and other spirits may take control. If you allow this to happen, your practice will cease to progress, and you will be unable to realise your true nature.
The Resonance of Divine Hearing
Similarly, divine hearing allows one to transcend the limitations of the physical ear. Our physical ears can only hear a very small fraction of the sound frequencies that exist. When one’s ear root is purified, one can break through the barriers of space and hear the voices of beings residing in other dimensions. When one reaches the state of the Buddha Ear, there are no longer any spatial obstacles or limitations. One can hear the voices of beings in any of the six realms of existence, in any space, or anywhere within the vastness of the Dharma Realm. If you find yourself able to hear the voices of beings in other spaces, you must be extremely cautious. Unless you are actively working to save these beings, do not let yourself be led by their voices. If you do, your spirit may be drawn into those spaces, making it difficult to return.
The Clarity of True Practice
The Heavenly Eye and divine hearing mentioned here are the natural, innate abilities of those who have achieved purity in their practice and have become awakened beings. These are not the result of external spirits attaching themselves to your body to manifest their own powers. These two situations are entirely different, and it is essential for all practitioners to be able to distinguish between them clearly. Namo Amituofo.
